Nuneaton's Emma Ricketts paddles her way to superb success in France

NUNEATON’S Emma Ricketts posted a double success when winning the Under-16s singles event in the National Kayak Marathon Championships of Great Britain during the summer and followed it up by adding the French equivalents to her roll of honour last weekend.

NUNEATON’S Emma Ricketts posted a double success when winning the Under-16s singles event in the National Kayak Marathon Championships of Great Britain during the summer and followed it up by adding the French equivalents to her roll of honour last weekend.

The 15-year-old, a member of the Great Britain squad, used the French Championships to benchmark her performance internationally and the Anker Valley Canoe Club youngster certainly emphasised her potential on Lake Sedan in Riems.

In the K2 race she was partnered by Runcorn’s Amy Wignall and the duo showed real class in beating 20 rivals over the eight-mile course as they took the lead from the word go and never relented, going through the finish some two minutes clear of their nearest pursuers.

Twenty four hours later, Emma was in action in the K1 singles over the same distance with more than 50 paddlers on the start line. A good start had her among a group of five but as the race unfolded there was only going to be one winner as Emma powered away to win by more than a minute.

These exceptional results followed another recent international appearance for a Great Britain junior team in the Olympic Hopes Regatta in Hungary last month, in which 27 countries took part.

Emma competed in three events, finishing sixth in the K2 1000m in the Under-16 age group, ninth in the K4 200m at Under-17s and missing out on reaching the final of the K4 500m by two tenths of a second.

She is supported by grants from Nuneaton and Bedworth Leisure Trust, Nuneaton Sports Forum and Coventry Warwickshire and Solihull Sports Partnership.

Kayaking’s governing body has nominated Emma to attend a Talented Athlete training camp at Loughborough University in January 2013, organised by the Youth Sports Trust, where she will join other talented athletes from across the country for lectures and training sessions from current and past Olympians.

Emma has set her sights on gaining selection for the GB team again next year with a realistic opportunity of achieving the race times required to gain selection to race at the European Junior Championships in Portugal or possibly the Junior World Championships in Canada. However, Ricketts faces a tough task as selection takes into account athletes up to the age of 18.